Chairperson, may I start by saying that I am struck by the high level of convergence of thinking on so many key issues in promoting the economic goals of this nation. There are some common themes, and I would like to identify eight areas in the contributions that I think sum up the growing consensus across party lines about what is necessary.
To begin with, there is clearly a significant need to focus on infrastructure. The hon Winde raised the examples of energy, of transport, of water and of ports. Not only does investment in these areas create jobs, but the resultant physical infrastructure is absolutely critical to sustain job creation. So, we have to get that right, and that is a very big part of the focus of this government.
The second aspect is the need to unblock the obstacles to jobs and to investment. The hon Mahlangu raised some very clear, very concrete examples of where we are perhaps not getting the balance right and where the level of foot-dragging is inconsistent with the urgency of our national jobs goals.
The third area seems to me to be the need to seize opportunities that are consistent with the New Growth Path. Many different speakers raised ideas and made suggestions or reflected on their provincial experiences. We heard examples from the Eastern Cape, from Gauteng, from the Western Cape, and others. In some cases, it was about the green economy. In others, it was high-level business services, such as the oil and gas service sector, that is a crucial opportunity for the West Coast.
The fourth area is that of beneficiation: using our natural resource base as a comparative advantage that we have in many cases. We do not have Turkey's advantage: it is located next door to Europe. We do not have China's advantage: it has a consumer base of 1,3 billion people. However, we have one very significant advantage: the world's biggest non-energy mineral base, considerable agricultural resources and other natural resources such as wind and sun. We have to use economic policy increasingly to play to our strengths, not to copy the strengths of others, but to see the indigenous opportunities.
Now MEC Mahlangu raised the example of the cost of inputs into the furniture industry. Similarly, we can use examples of the cost of steel on the downstream industry. These are all instances where, working together with provinces, with investors, and using competition policy or new investment opportunities, we can unlock the opportunities that are there waiting for us in the economy.
The fifth area is that of localisation. The hon Sinclair raised this issue, and we have just made a very significant amendment to our Preferential Procurement Regulations to enable a new model that places local manufacturing capability at the centre of what we want to do. Now, it is not an invitation to local entrepreneurs to fleece the state. We still have to have competition in the domestic economy. We must try wherever possible not to have a single supplier, and there are tools that are available to us to try to ensure that.
However, it is absolutely vital, if we are going to spend this trillion rand over the next four years on infrastructure development, that we have a legacy. That legacy has to be a strong industrial base, making the manufactured inputs, the components, the rail tracks, the carriages, the turbines, and then exporting those to the rest of the African continent and to other developing countries.
The sixth aspect is the importance of research and development. It is not only wealthy, advanced economies that need to invest in research and development. Precisely when you want more jobs, you need to identify how you can do that, and a research and development advantage - a new technology, a new technique, a new way of doing things - often does that.
The seventh area is the role of government. The hon Gunda says that part of the role of the department and, by extension, government, is to address not just issues of market failure, but also issues of public sector failure. That is important. We have to make sure that the economy works in a co- ordinated way. The old, stale debates about state versus market are gone. It is really about how to integrate state and market. The point that the hon Winde raised, I think, is worth repeating, because I agree with what he says. He says jobs need growth, and then he says government needs to steer that growth in the right direction. It is that steering role of government that constitutes the developmental state. That is the essence of the policy of this government. We want jobs-rich growth; not just any growth, but jobs-rich growth that assists us to meet our developmental goals. I think that is important - that we have so many areas of agreement.
In the limited time I have available, I should make the point that our policy is not export-led growth. It is to use the opportunities of exports to beneficiate more of what we currently export in raw form. This is so that even the exports are more jobs-rich.
When you export raw material, you create only digging jobs; mining jobs. When you export finished goods, embodied in that product is a range of services: the science and technology of the nation, the labour power of your factory workers, the supplier sectors, transport and others, all of which collaborate in making that product. So, I think, it is critical for us that we see opportunities with exports, but that we also exploit the opportunities in the domestic market.
Finally, I think that if there was a contribution that was consistently disappointing it was that of the hon Lees. I would encourage the hon member to read the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the New Growth Path, the Labour Relations Act, and China's numerous five-year development plans. His contribution indicates that the member, perhaps distracted by other priorities, has not had an opportunity to read these documents. He is unfamiliar with them.
I do wish to state, in conclusion, that I found the tone of the debate, in general, to be high, and I really appreciate the many useful suggestions and ideas that hon members have made.
It is the birthday of the Deputy Minister of Economic Development. I am sure, on behalf of everybody here, you would want to wish him a very, very happy birthday, and assist him to get to the airport in time to dash back to his family so that he can spend at least some hours of his birthday with them. Thank you very much. [Applause.]